Foam molding and foam cushion molding method

ABSTRACT

An adhesive fastener for foam molding and cushion thereof are disclosed herein. The adhesive fastener comprises a strip. The strip comprises a surface with a plurality of first hooks and second hooks. The first hooks are disposed on an adhesive area and the second hooks are disposed on a surrounding area of the adhesive area. The arrange density of the first hooks is greater than the arrange density of the second hooks. Therefore, when the adhesive fastener is used in a foam material cushion, the adhesive and fastening function in the adhesive area is working normally and a combining force between the adhesive fastener and the foam material is performed well.

This application is a Continuation in-part of and claims a priority tothe U.S. application Ser. No. 13/770,741 entitled “ADHESIVE FASTENER FORFOAM MOLDING AND CUSHION THEREOF” filed on Feb. 19, 2013 which claimed aforeign priority of TW 101143041, filed on Nov. 19, 2012.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention is related to an adhesive fastener and moreparticularly related to an adhesive fastener for foam molding.

2. Description of the Prior Art

The adhesive fastener was conceived by a Swiss engineer. The idea cameto him from the burrs (seeds) of burdock. The adhesive fasteners consistof two components: typically, two lineal fabric strips which areattached to the opposing surfaces to be fastened. The first componentfeatures tiny hooks; the second features even smaller and “hairier”loops. When the two components are pressed together, the hooks catch inthe loops and the two pieces fasten or bind temporarily.

The adhesive fasteners are easy fastened and separated and are usuallyimplemented with other objects in recent years. Please refer to FIG. 1A,which is a view illustrating a conventional adhesive fastener. Anadhesive fastener 9 includes a strip 90 and the strip 90 includes asurface 902 and a plurality of hooks 903. The area where hooks 903located is an adhesive area 9024. When the adhesive fastener 9 isimplemented with a foam object, such as a cushion and so on, the hook903 of the adhesive fastener 9 is faced outside to couple with anotherobject with hair surface and the adhesive fastener 9 and the cushion arefasten together.

Please refer to FIG. 1B, which is a view illustrating a conventionaladhesive fastener is forming with a foam material in an opening endmold. The manufacturing method to combine the adhesive fastener and thecushion is described as the following. First of all, in order to avoidthe foam material 92 covering the hook 903 to affect the function of theadhesive fastener 9, one side of the adhesive fastener 9 includes aretaining wall 95. The adhesive fastener 9 is disposed within the moldand filled with the foam material 92. When the foam material 92 issolidified, the adhesive fastener 9 and the foam material 92 are formingtogether. However, if the opening end mold 94 is used, the retainingwall 95 is required to be formed on the adhesive fastener 9 to causetroubles and increase cost. And the adhesive force of the foam material92 and the adhesive fastener 9 is not enough, so the adhesive fastener 9is easy to loose from the foam material 92. Please refer to FIG. 1C,which is a view illustrating the conventional adhesive fastener and thefoam material are formed and fasten together in the closing mold. Whenfilling with the foam material 92 by using the closing end mold, it canavoid the foam material 92 covering the hook 902 of the adhesivefastener 9, but the adhesive force of the foam material 92 and the hook903 is still not good enough and the adhesive fastener is easy to loosefrom the foam material 92. Therefore, it is easy to produce a defectiveitem by the conventional adhesive fastener 9 in the opening end mold orthe closing end mold to increase the cost.

According the drawbacks described above, it is necessary to provide animprovement to produce an item with better quality when using theadhesive fastener to produce the cushion with the foam material.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In order to overcome the drawbacks described above, main object of thepresent invention is to provide an adhesive fastener for foam molding.The foam material will not be stuck within the adhesive area to coverthe hooks and therefore the hooks and the corresponding loop componenttogether can perform binding in a good manner. As a result, a goodadhesive force is existed between the foam material and the adhesivefastener.

According to the object above, the present invention provides anadhesive fastener for foam molding, including a strip having a surface;

a plurality of first hooks disposed on a first area of the surface ofthe strip with a first arranging density; and a plurality of secondhooks disposed on a second area of the surface of the strip with asecond arranging density. The second area is peripheral to the firstarea and the second arranging density is greater than the firstarranging density.

Moreover, the present invention also provides a cushion with adhesivefastener including a foam body and at least one adhesive fastener, thefoam body is formed by a foam material and the adhesive fastener. Thefoam body includes a concave for disposing the adhesive fastener. Thefoam material of the foam body is embedded with the peripheral hooks ofthe adhesive fastener for foam molding.

By the adhesive fastener provided in the present invention, it will havea better yield and the cost can be reduced when using the adhesivefastener to make a cushion.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The foregoing aspects and many of the attendant advantages of thisinvention will become more readily appreciated as the same becomesbetter understood by reference to the following detailed description,when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1A is a view schematically illustrates a conventional adhesivefastener.

FIG. 1B is a view schematically illustrates a conventional adhesivefastener molded with a foam material in an opening end mold.

FIG. 1C is a view schematically illustrates a conventional adhesivefastener molded with a foam material in a closed end mold.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view schematically illustrates an adhesivefastener in a first embodiment of the present invention,

FIG. 3 is a view schematically illustrates molding of the adhesivefastener in the first embodiment of the present invention with the foammaterial within an opening end mold.

FIG. 4 is a view schematically illustrates molding of the adhesivefastener in the first embodiment of the present invention with the foammaterial within a closing end mold.

FIG. 5 is a view schematically illustrates a cushion with the adhesivefastener in the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a view schematically illustrates arrangement of the hooks onblocking zones of the adhesive fastener in the first embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 7 is a view schematically illustrates arrangement of the hooks onthe blocking zones of the adhesive fastener in a second embodiment ofthe present invention.

FIG. 8 is a view schematically illustrates shape of hooks disposed atdifferent areas of an adhesive fastener in a third embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 9 is a foam molding method of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Firstly, please refer to FIG. 2, which is a perspective viewillustrating an adhesive fastener molded with a foam material in a firstembodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 2, the adhesivefastener 1 includes a strip 10, and the strip 10 includes a surface 102,a plurality of first hooks 103 and a plurality of second hooks 104. Theplurality of first hooks 103 are disposed at the middle of the surface102 to form an adhesive area 1024 and are arranged with a firstarranging density. The second hooks 104 are disposed at a surroundingarea of the surface 102 and two sides thereof such that each sideconstitutes a blocking zone 1025. The width D in each of the blockingzone 1025 is 1 mm-3 mm and the plurality of second hooks 104 arearranged with a second arranging density. The first arranging densityand the second arranging density are number of hooks per unit area andthe second arranging density is greater than the first arrangingdensity.

Now, please refer to FIG. 3, which is a view illustrating that theadhesive fastener is molded with the foam material within an opening endmold in the first embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG.3 and FIG. 2, the surface 102 of the adhesive fastener 1 is faced downto dispose on the opening end mold 2 and the liquid of the foam material3 is filled within the opening end mold 2. During filling with theliquid of the foam material 3, the liquid of the foam material 3 willflow to the blocking zone 1025 and flow a distance, usually about 1 mm-3mm, on the surface 102. Because stopping by the second hook 104, thefoam material 3 will be solidified on the blocking zone 1025 and won'tflow to the adhesive area 1024. Therefore, during filling with theliquid of the foam material 3, the function of the first hooks 103 willnot be affected by the leakage of the foam material 3 and the firsthooks 103 are able to successfully bind with a corresponding hook infuture. Moreover, because the liquid of the foam material 3 is stoppedby the second hooks 104 and solidified on the blocking zone 1025, theliquid of the foaming material 3 and the second hooks 104 are embeddedand interrupted to each other such that the liquid of the foam material3 is well and firmly adhered to the adhesive fastener 1. In addition, inthe practical manner, the height of the first hooks 103 is smaller thanthe height of the second hooks 104 to avoid that the first hooks 103 aredepressed and damaged by the mold.

Now, please refer to FIG. 4, which is a view illustrating that theadhesive fastener is molded with material within a closing end mold inthe first embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 4 andFIG. 2, the surface 102 of the adhesive fastener 1 is faced down todispose on the closing end mold 4 and the liquid of the foam material 3is filled within the opening end mold 4. During filling with the liquidof the foam material 3, the liquid of the foam material 3 will flow tothe blocking zone 1025 and flow a distance, usually about 1 mm-3 mm, onthe surface 102. Because stopping by the second hook 104, the foammaterial 3 will be solidified on the blocking zone 1025 and won't flowto the adhesive area 1024. Therefore, during filling with the liquid ofthe foam material 3, the function of the first hooks 103 will not beaffected by the leakage of the liquid of the foam material 3 and thefirst hooks 103 are able to successfully bind with a corresponding hookin future. Moreover, because the liquid of the foam material 3 isstopped by the second hooks 104 and solidified on the blocking zone1025, the liquid of the foaming material 3 and the second hooks 104 areembedded and interrupted to each other such that the liquid of the foammaterial 3 is well and firmly adhered to the adhesive fastener 1. Inaddition, in the practical manner, the height of the first hooks 103 islarger than the height of the second hooks 104 to save the usage of thematerial of the second hooks 104 and enable the second hooks 104 to havesame function as a retaining wall.

Now please refer to FIG. 5, which is a view illustrating a cushion withthe adhesive fastener in the first embodiment of the present invention.The cushion 5 includes a foam body 50 and at least one adhesive fastener1. The foam body 50 and the adhesive fastener 1 are integrally formed.The present adhesive fastener 1 is the same as the adhesive fastener 1in the previous embodiment and includes the strip 10. Because thecharacteristics of each of the components and the connectionrelationship thereof are the same as the previous embodiment, the detaildescription is omitted herein. For example, the foam body 50 is embeddedwith the second hooks 104 of the adhesive fastener 1 and the foam body50 and the second hooks 104 are interrupted to each other.

In addition, in the preferred embodiment, the foam body 50 furtherincludes at least one concave 501 for disposing the adhesive fastener 1to increase the assembly of the cushion 5 and any other items havingcorresponding adhesive fastening structure.

Now, please refer to FIG. 6, which is a view schematically illustratesarrangement of the second or peripheral hooks 104 on blocking zones 1025of the adhesive fastener in the first embodiment of the presentinvention. As shown in FIG. 6, the second hooks 104 are arranged in aparallel and interlaced manner on the strip 10. The second hooks 104 inone row and in the other row are arranged with an offset existed betweentwo rows.

Please refer to FIG. 7, which is a view schematically illustratesarrangement of the second or peripheral hooks 104 on blocking zones 1025of the adhesive fastener in a second embodiment of the presentinvention. As show in FIG. 7, the second hooks 104′ are arranged in aparallel and aligned manner on the strip 10. The second hooks 104′ inone row and in the other row are arranged without an offset existedbetween two rows.

Please refer to FIG. 8, which is a view illustrating a hook of theadhesive fastener in third embodiment of the present invention. As shownin FIG. 8, the strip 10 includes the first hooks 103 and the secondhooks 104″. The shape of the first hook 103 is different from the shapeof the second hooks 104″. The form of the hooks 103 in the presentembodiment is a single hook and the form of the second hooks 104″ is adouble hook. The second hooks 104″ with double hook can strengthen theembedding condition of the foam material.

This invention further provides a foam molding method as FIG. 9 shows,the method comprises the steps of:

Step 301: providing an adhesive fastener 1, wherein the fastener 1includes a strip 10, the strip 10 has a surface 102, while a pluralityof first hooks 103 is disposed on a first area of the surface 102 with afirst arranging density, and a plurality of second hooks 104 is disposedon a second area of the surface 102 with a second arranging density, inaddition, the second area is peripheral to the first area and the secondarranging density is greater than the first arranging density.

The forming method of the adhesive fastener 1 can be injection molding.

Step 302: disposing the adhesive fastener 1 on a mold.

The mold in the step 302 can be an opening end mold 2 showed in FIG. 3,or a closing end mold 4 showed in FIG. 4. In the embodiment that themold is an opening end mold 2, the second hooks 104 can be taller thanthe first hooks 103, so that when the second hooks 104 are contact withthe opening end mold 2, the first hooks 103 is disposed away from theopening end mold 2. In the embodiment that the mold is a closing endmold 4, the height of the second hooks 104 can be shorter than that ofthe first hooks 103, so that the material usage of the second hooks 104can be save.

Step 303: filling liquid of foam material 3 around the mold, the liquidof foam material 3 is stopped by the plurality of second hooks 104, theplurality of first hooks 103 is not contact with the liquid of foammaterial 3.

Step 304: solidifying the liquid of the foam material 3, for the liquidof the foam material 3 is stopped by the second hooks 104, the liquid ofthe foam material 3 will solidify on the blocking zone 1025 and won'tflow to the adhesive area 1024.

By using the adhesive fastener 1 provided in the present invention inthe liquid of the foam material 3, the cushion 5 with foam material ismade with the adhesive fastener 1 can have a better yield to save thecost.

According to the foam molding method of the present invention, a foamproduct (for example, the cushion 5) with an adhesive fastener 1 can beproduced. The adhesive area 1024 of the foam product can be wellperformed, and the foam product is able to adhesive with anotheradhesive fastener securely.

What is claimed is:
 1. A foam molding method, comprising: providing anadhesive fastener, the fastener includes a strip with a surface, whereina plurality of first hooks is disposed on a first area of the surface,and a plurality of second hooks is disposed peripherally to the firsthooks; disposing the adhesive fastener on a mold; filling a liquid of afoam material around the mold, the liquid of the foam material is to bestopped by the plurality of second hooks and the plurality of firsthooks is not contact with the liquid of the foam material; andsolidifying the liquid of the foam material fluid; wherein the liquid ofthe foam material is stopped by the second hooks and the first hooks arenot contact with the liquid of the foam material.
 2. The method of claim1, wherein the plurality of first hooks is disposed on the first areawith a first arranging density.
 3. The method of claim 2, wherein theplurality of second hooks is disposed on the second area with a secondarranging density.
 4. The method of claim 3, wherein the secondarranging density is larger than the first arranging density.
 5. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the mold is an opening end mold.
 6. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the mold is a closing end mold.
 7. A foamcushion molding method, comprising: providing an adhesive fastener, thefastener includes a strip with a surface, wherein a plurality of firsthooks is disposed on a first area of the surface, and a plurality ofsecond hooks is disposed peripherally to the first hooks; disposing theadhesive fastener on a mold; filling a liquid of a foam material aroundthe mold, the liquid of the foam material is to be stopped by theplurality of second hooks and the plurality of first hooks is notcontact with the foam material; and solidifying the liquid of the foammaterial to form a cushion; wherein the liquid of the foam material isstopped by the second hooks and the first hooks are not contact with theliquid of the foam material.